”That jazz” is referring to a miracle in music that happened in the beginning of 1900s when people from a big variation of ethnical and cultural background inspired each other to play in a new fashion. Luckily all this coincided with the development of new inventions like the phonograph recordings, photography and film so that it became in part documented and still can be enjoyed today. In my early teens I happened to be exposed to ”that jazz” and it struck a string deep within me that has kept vibrating ever since.
Paul Bocciolone Strandberg
NEW Series: From the Studio and From the Record Shelves
Today’s Tune:
From the Record Shelves #341
Sweet Georgia Brown
CD Retrieval RTR 79055
Ben Bernie had a good dance band that, a hundred years ago, played in the newly opened, fashionable Hotel Roosevelt in New York. Located in the heart of Manhattan, the still-standing Hotel Roosevelt now serves as housing for asylum seekers.
Bernie also co-composed Sweet Georgia Brown, a tune that is one of the most played in jam sessions all over the globe, not always treated well. But here we have it in the original form, recorded on March 19, 1925, and released on Vocalion.
Reed players love to run through its changes, which logically follow the circle of fifths, and in this version we hear an early saxophone improviser. He was Jack Pettis (1902-1963), and he had already made an impression as a pioneer with his C-melody sax while recording in Chicago with The New Orleans Rhythm Kings. Later he was leading a recording group based on members from Ben Bernie’s orchestra, which resulted in some beautiful records. Saxophonists Bud Freeman and Lester Young have mentioned him as a source of inspiration.
Strangely little was known about his activities after the 20s, but with the introduction of the internet, there suddenly was a home page, with the participation of his family members, and now you can learn everything about him and see photos from their scrapbook.
Apart from Pettis solo, Ben Bernie’s Sweet Georgia Brown has no room for jazz improvisation, but it has intense playing, especially by the brass section, and gives us a chance to hear the verse.
There also exists a Vitaphone short with the same arrangement and personnel, and Pettis’s solo has been billed as the first filmed jazz solo.
Radioprogram (Swedish):
Radio Swingtime 100 – 1 november 2002
MY PRETTY GIRL – Nu är vi framme vid det näst sista avsnittet i denna unika radioprogramserie. Vi gläds åt livaktig jazz från New Orleans med Oliver Naylor och Halfway House Orchestra, vi njuter av Fletcher Hendersons fina orkester med arrangemang av (…) lyssna på radioprogramlyssna på Radio Swingtime 100
Latest CDs:
Sensational CD with Narcisse Jazz Band
Melodious jazz inspired by the irresistible sound and pulse of the 1920’s. Buy at $10.00 (+shipping) (…) view the CDMore about Narcisse CD
Paul and His Gang – new CD Live in USA and Canada
Paul and his Gang was founded in Malmoe, Sweden by Paul Bocciolone Strandberg in 1990. At the most prestigious jazz festival for “old style jazz” in Breda, Holland they won the first prize in 1992. Their genuine interpretations of early jazz created an interest also in the US where (…) view the CDMore about Paul and His Gang CD Live in USA and Canada
“Remembering” CD
I’m proud to present a new double-CD in co-operation with jazzarkivet. The production is a retrospective collection of recordings and presents two of my most successful bands, Scaniazz (CD 1) and The Absalon Orchestra (CD 2), covering the period from 1975 until 1988 (…) continue readingRemembering CD